Historical Dance Video

Jacob’s Pillow Dance Interactive is an ever-growing collection of dance videos filmed at Jacob’s Pillow from the 1930s to today.

Jacob’s Pillow is a National Historic Landmark, a National Medal of Arts recipient, and home to America’s longest running dance festival. Each year thousands of people from across the U.S. and around the globe experience the Festival with more than 50 dance companies and 200 free performances, talks, and events; train at The School at Jacob’s Pillow; explore the rare and extensive dance Archives; take part in numerous Community Programs; and experience the rich history of the Festival online.

Dance Links

Choreographers

"As a choreographer, Doris Humphrey excelled in her designs for groups, mass movements and sculptural shapes. This was seen throughout her career from early works such as 'Soaring,' to one of her last, 'Dawn in New York'."

"...moving image materials that document the extraordinary journey of a woman who changed the face of American modern dance. Selected materials, including videos of dance technique and fieldwork, are available..."

"A pioneer in what is now called “extended vocal technique” and “interdisciplinary performance,” Monk creates works that thrive at the intersection of music and movement, image and object, light and sound in an effort to discover and weave together new modes of perception."

Influential Dancers

"Baryshnikov danced more than 100 different works, from the classics Giselle and Don Quixote to Twyla Tharp’s Push Comes to Shove and George Balanchine’s Apollo, and he was a leading guest artist on the world’s greatest stages."

"Martha Graham is recognized as a primal artistic force of the 20th Century alongside Picasso, Stravinsky, James Joyce, and Frank Lloyd Wright. In 1998 TIME Magazine named Martha Graham as the 'Dancer of the Century'..."

"No male dancer ever had more influence on the history, style and public perception of ballet than Rudolf Nureyev. He changed people's expectations. Starting out from inauspicious beginnings in a remote town in the Urals, he ended up changing the whole fa

Festivals & Conferences

"A creative laboratory dedicated to nurturing and sustaining modern dance, the ADF is an international magnet for choreographers, dancers, teachers, critics, musicians and scholars, drawing them together to experiment, explore, learn, collaborate and crea

"Spoleto has earned a reputation for offering programs of the highest artistic caliber, supporting new and innovative works, nurturing outstanding young artists, and expanding public appreciation of the arts." It takes place annually in Charleston, SC.

Dance Companies

"The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater grew from the now fabled performance in March 1958, at the 92nd Street Young Men's Hebrew Association in New York... That performance changed forever the perception of American dance."

"Merce Cunningham Dance Company is a group of fourteen dancers (seven women, seven men) who perform the works of Merce Cunningham, choreographer and artistic director, with the collaboration of contemporary musicians and visual artists."

"The Company was founded after 11 years of collaboration during which Bill T. Jones and Arnie Zane (1948 - 1988) redefined the duet form and foreshadowed issues of identity, form and social commentary that would change the face of American dance."